Democracy Has Prevailed.

May 14, 2023

PA St. Sen. Doug Mastriano Sticks To The Anti-Vax Crowd

Take a look:

This is the event:


It even got some local Patch coverage.

Sen Mastriano said he was "joined by a panel of medical professionals" for this conference (heckuva deal at only $50 - and look breakfast and door prizes included!) This is the list from Patch:

  • Dr. Stephanie Coxon, BCTN, PhD
  • Dr. Jeanne O'Connell, MD, Frederick, MD
  • Graham Hetrick, MS, FD, B.C.F.E.
  • Dr. Scott Perlman,Chiropractor, JAS Medical & Wellness Center of GA
  • Michael Carnevale, Quantus Life
  • Dr. Jeff Barke, MD (Member, America's Frontline Doctors - CA)

Let's look at those professionals.

Dr Stephanie Coxon - not a medical doctor. And that BCTN? Took me a while to find out what that means. The American Naturopathic Medical Certification Board says it's:

Board Certified Traditional Naturopath

BTW, there's no medical license required for that certification. She does have a CNHP and a CHS from the Trinity School of Natural Health in Warsaw, IN, where a CNHP is a "Certified Natural Health Professional" and a CHS is a "Certified Health Specialist." Trinity School also offers courses in Aromatherapy and Advanced Biblical Studies, by the way. Her PhD is in "Instructional Leadership and Management" but I wasn't able to track down the university that awarded her that very non-medical/non-scientific degree.

Certainly not an expert on vaccines or Covid or epidemiology.

Dr. Jeanne O'Connell - is a medical doctor. Though not, as far as I can tell, an expert in vaccines or Covid or epidemiology. She is the medical director at Sylvan Medical and Aesthetics Center. Take a look:

Dr. Jeanne O'Connell is a board certified physician with decades of experience in aesthetic, functional, integrative a regenerative medicine. Her vision was to establish a medical spa and medical practice that focuses on aesthetics, underlying illnesses, offering an integrative, evidence-based approach to care and incorporating biomedical approaches that help regenerate cells and tissue to restore or establish normal function.

Dr. O'Connell is also a master of the latest science-based developments in skin care, facial rejuvenation, weight loss and body sculpting. We take a personalized whole person approach to helping you maintain, enhance and restore the healthy glow that comes with looking and feeling your best. At Sylvana Medical & Aesthetics Center we treat the whole person, inside and out, not just symptoms.

Nothing about Covid, by the way.

Graham Hetrick - not a medical doctor. Anti-vax County Coroner in Dauphin County.  I was able to dig up some interesting facts about the good not-a-Dr.

From ABC27:

The Dauphin County Coroner is an outspoken critic of mask mandates and believes the COVID vaccines aren’t safe. Public health officials say arguments like these are dangerous.

 And from Lancaster Online we learn:

Hetrick isn’t a doctor, but he is “a subject matter expert on drug abuse, child death and child abuse, organ tissue donation, violent crimes, medical legal death investigation, forensic methodology, and the grieving process,” according to his website.

Certainly not an expert on vaccines or Covid or epidemiology. But apparently, he looks good on TV.

Dr Scott Perlman - not a medical doctor. A chiropractor. 'Nuff said.

Certainly not an expert on vaccines or Covid or epidemiology. 

Michael Carnevale - not a medical doctor, evidently. He is from an entity called Quantus Life, however. It's a health and wellness center out of Casper, Wyoming and from the website it looks like they'll sell you many products for your health and wellness for what I am presuming is a fair and honest price.

Certainly not an expert on vaccines or Covid or epidemiology.

Dr Jeff Barke - is a medical doctor. But he's from America's Front Line Physicians - a group that has been spreading anti-vax misinformation for years:

A physician group that rampantly spread COVID-19 misinformation is back in the spotlight -- but this time, sowing doubt about the vaccine.

America's Frontline Doctors, an organization that claims to provide uncensored, accurate information about the pandemic, became infamous in July after a viral press conference that protested government lockdown restrictions and spread inaccuracies ranging from the ineffectiveness of masks to claims that hydroxychloroquine could "cure" COVID-19.

Now, those same doctors -- the majority of which have no experience treating COVID-19 patients -- have launched a campaign to warn Americans that they should not be forced to take an "experimental vaccine," while failing to mention the safety trials and large phase III efficacy trials, along with the fact that no vaccine mandate exists.

So, how do we sum up this meeting?

Judging from the poster and what I was able to dig up online, there was little or no actual expertise in vaccines on those panels - certainly not Covid vaccines, certainly not in epidemiology. But there was lots of access to  "health and wellness" and/or naturopathic "remedies" that can be purchased for, I am presuming, a fair and honest price. Have I got that right?

And, yea and judging by who was there and where they came from and what they were looking to sell, I would also presume that there was a fair amount of anti-vax BS there too.

Doug Mastriano, anti-vax activist.